>> this is bbc world news. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives.

we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, bbc world news. a massive police operation continues in france and britain after a brutal mass murder in the french alps. two little girls survive as their parents are gunned down. investigators consider whether a family feud could be the key to the killer's identity. >> president obama turns up the volume the democratic party convention as he asks americans to give him four more years. >> in you believe in a country

where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone plays by the same rules, then i need you to vote this november. >> free but for how long? the christian girl at the center of blasphemy allegations gets bail as criticism of the case mounts. >> in the french alps, police are investigating a brutal attack on a british iraqi family on their summer holiday. two young sisters survived the killings of their parents and an older woman, as well as a french psych he willist, whose body was found near the scene of the attack. the youngest child, a 4-year-old, was found hiding between the skirts of her dead mother in the back seat of the family car. french prosecutors say a reported feud between two brothers is one focus of their investigation, but they've warned against drawing any premature conclusions.

>> the french newspapers today are asking the question everyone wants an answer to -- why was this british family shot in this quiet part of southeast france? french police have described the murder of three members of the al-hilli family and a french local as an act of extreme savagery. they believe the murder of saad al-hilli, his wife, iqbal, and their 77-year-old mother and the shooting of their 7-year-old daughter was not a random act, they may have been targeted. another daughter, 4-year-old zeena, was found without physical injuries in the car eight hours after police were on the scene. post morlt he will examinations are being carried out today. all that's known for sure at the moment is the family left the camp site that they were staying at yesterday afternoon, taking the tourist route to the small village of chevaline. just before 4:00 local time, their locked car was discovered with three bodies inside. they'd all been shot in the head. outside, the daughter was

discovered alive after also being shot and beaten. another man, a cyclist, thought to have been a witness, was found also shot dead. police sealed off the area, but it was midnight when they discovered the 4-year-old child frozen in fear inside the vehicle. >> that delay was this morning defended by the french interior minister. >> they did a very good job yesterday, and i have full confidence in their ability, said this man, insisting that may i remind you the little girl was found alive, he said. both her and her critically ill older sister are under armed guard in hospital, possibly the only witnesses. >> my consular staff, very caring, experienced people, have been with the little 4-year-old girl, who's not physically harmed, but obviously deeply traumatized, and they are with her. they will be with her, alongside some very expert and caring french child psychologists as well. the older girl is still deeply

wounded and is not able to receive visitors yet. as soon as she can, again, our consequence lore people will be with her to give her english-speaking support, alongside the french. >> the al-hilli family lived in surrey. he was an iraqi but came to britain as a child as his family fled the regime there. he worked in the aerospace industry. all of this has been investigated by police for possible clues as to a motive. as people laid flowers outside the family home in surrey, the french prosecutors said an alleged family feud was one line of inquiry being investigated. keith doyle, bbc news. >> and we can talk now to our correspondent in annecy in the french alps, imogen foulkes. she's on the line right now. let's start with what french prosecutors and officials have been saying today. any more indication of where their investigation is going right now? >> not really, no, and we are waiting for a police press conference later this afternoon, but certainly the

lead prosecuting officer in this case confirmed to us, to the bbc this morning, that the possibility of a row within the family, possibly a row over money, was one -- and i should stress one -- one line of inquiry, which the police were pursuing. but it's one little thing in a case in which there are many, many, many very big questions. the biggest of which could possibly motivate such a serious and brutal crime. i mean, let's not forget that four people were mercilessly killed. they sustained multiple gunshot wounds. the children themselves were not spared. one of them was shot, the other, as you know, the little 4-year-old girl, managed to hide. the police are obviously very keen to pursue every possible line of inquiry, not just because people need to know why

this happened, but because there is a very dangerous individual, possibly more than one individual, out there who was capable of this kind of violence. >> at least one thing to talk to the little girl, the only witnesses, as soon as they can, but it's very delicate, isn't it? these are very young children, and they've been through unimaginable trauma, one, of course, still very ill. is there any indication of when investigators might try to talk to them? >> well, i think obviously it has to be as soon as possible, but within the context of just how much these children can take, and also, you know, it's perhaps also not necessarily productive to try to rush something like this. these are very small children, 7 and 4. and even with cases not nearly as grave as this, you know,

social workers, child psychiatrists, police officers dealing with children know that you can't just talk to them the way you would question an adult. at this age, it absolutely does not work in the same way t. has to be done very carefully and with a great deal of compassion. let's not forget that these girls are not just one of them seriously physically injured, the other deeply traumatized, both of them certainly traumatized. they have actually lost both their parents. >> of course, and just before we finish, one tiny sliver of good news, imogen. i gather that the older girl, who i believe is 7, who was listed as critically ill yesterday, is a little bit of good news about her medical condition. >> it appears that she is now stable. on the day of the shooting, we were originally told she was dead, but she was rushed to the hospital. she had emergency surgery. her condition has been critical. but we are told that now she is stable.

so, as you say, a little glimmer of good news in a very, very dark story. >> imogen, thanks for joining us from annecy in the french alps. president obama has appealed to americans to give him four more years in office. at the climax of the democratic party convention in charlotte, north carolina, he said november's election would offer voters a stark choice between two fundamentally different visions of america's future. he asked for patience, suggesting it would be a long road to economic recovery. steve kingston sent this report from the convention. >> the president of the united states of america, barack obama. >> win or lose, this campaign is the last time that barack obama will ask the american people for their trust. democrats savored the moment, but he seemed impient to address a troubled nation far beyond the convention hall. >> knowur problems can be solved.

our challenges can be met. the past we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place, and i'm asking to you choose that future. >> republicans have framed this election as a referendum on the obama economy, but he said voters face a choice. >> and on every issue, the choice you face won't just be between two candidates or two parties, it will be a choice between two different paths for america. ours is a fight to restore the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known. >> by contrast, he said republicans were about little more than tax cuts for the rich, and he mocked mitt romney's inexperience on foreign policy. >> they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost america so dearly. after all, you don't call russia our number one enemy, not al qaeda, russia, unless you're still stuck in a cold

war mind warp. >> he rattled off goals for a second term, new manufacturing jobs, more science teachers, less imported oil. but it was a speech about direction more than detail, and it ended with a rallying cry. >> america, i never said this journey would be easy, and i won't promise that now. yes, our path is harder, but it leads to a better place. but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon knowing it is with us and we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on earth. thank you. >> a stirring performance by a man leading -- pleading for more time. once again, barack obama shows that he can turn on the style, but what really matters, of course, is what america far beyond this hall makes of the substance. steve kingston, bbc news, charlotte. >> and coming up later here on

"g.m.t." -- i'll be joined by more guests on how barack obama's performance and how it rated against that of his rival, mitt romney, who had his republican convention in tampa, florida, just last week. before we go any further, i must bring to you some breaking news just reaching us. this is taken from syrian state television, which reports that a bomb has exploded outside a mosque in the capital, damascus. state television reports that there are casualties. there is no more detail at the moment. of course, we have seen bomb blasts in damascus over the course of the last few moss, as the violence in syria has escalated, and we will, of course, bring you more on that story as we get it. now, let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. a series of earthquakes and tremors has struck a mountainous region in southwest

china. state media reported that more than 40 people have been killed and thousands of buildings damaged. the moderate-strength quake hit the provinces and have driven tens of thousands from their homes. rescue teams are being sent to the area. at least 11 people have been killed in renewed ethnic violence in the tana delta area near kenya. one witness said he heard shots and screams when a village was attacked and set on fire. the violence centers on a dispute over grazing land and water between two groups of people, and staff at yosemite national park in the united states have extended a warning about those who could be at risk of a rare and deadly virus. they now say 20,000 people who visited the park in california could be at risk. the warning comes after a third person died of hantavirus, a virus which is spread by mice. the campers had visited the site, previously thought to be unaffected.

prince harry has arrived in afghanistan at the start of a four-month deployment as an apache helicopter commander. the prince is based at camp bastion in helmand. quintonsomerville has this report from afghanistan. >> back in uniform and back in afghanistan, prince harry is now fully qualified to fly this apache in combat. it's one of the most sophisticated attack helicopters in the world. and in a matter of days, he'll be flying missions against the taliban. the prince's arrival here in afghanistan is a timely reminder of his more duty i feel sight, but hasn't been arranged to distract of his misadventures in a las vegas room. it's the prince's personal determination to resume his career and to complete for the first time a full tour of duty on the front lines.

he was last in afghanistan in 2008. then, his deployment was kept secret. in southern helmand, he was part of ground forces hauling in aircraft to target the insurgents. but he faced dramatically increased when news leaked that the third in line to the throne was here in afghanistan. his tour was cut short, the prince left, bitterly disappointed. but training to be an apache commander changed the risk he faced. he came top of his class, and britain has never lost one of these aircraft in combat, but apaches are still regularly targeted. >> working together with his colleagues in the squadron, he'll be in a difficult and demanding job, and asked that he be allowed to focus on delivering support to the coalition troops on the ground. this is where the prince says he feels most comfortable, alongside his squadron on active duty. the challenges of the past

couple of weeks are likely to be nothing compared to his next four months of combat. quinton somerville, bbc news, afghanistan. >> still to come on "g.m.t." -- action and cue the poetic story telling. it's time for the toronto film festival with an eye on the oscars. president juan manual santos of colombia has rejected calls by the farc rebel group for a cease fir when peace talks begin next month. mr. santos said the colombian military would continue to fight the left-wing rebels until a deal to end the five-decade-long conflict was signed. at the paralympic games, the british runner johnny peacock, took the gold medal in the t-44 100 meters race. peacock crossed the line in a time of 10.90 seconds, which

was a new paralympic record. there was disappointment for defending champion oscar pistorius, as we now report. >> his face says it all, and who could blame this british 19-year-old for being overwhelmed? johnny peacock powered his way to victory in the men's t-44 100 meters. his name rang outside in the stadium, as peacock tore down the track and crossed the line in 10.90 seconds, a new paralympic record. where was his hero and rival? oscar pistorius failed to live up to his nickname. the south african was the defending champion, a paralympic trailblazer, who had no answers and was run out of the medals. but there was none of the bad feeling expressed after pistorius' defeat in the men's 200-meter final. he genuinely congratulated the gold medalist, and the gesture was thoroughly appreciated.

>> he was very grace informal defeat, which is nice. that's the oscar pistorius that we know and love, and that's the oscar pistorius that's done just such an amazing amount for the profile of the paralympic movement. >> perhaps there will be some soul searching for pistorius, but not before friday, when he has the chance to defend his 400-meter paralympic title. for now, the battle of the blade runners has produced a new -- >> this is "g.m.t." from "bbc world news." i'm stephen sackur. the headlines -- a family rift is being investigated as a possible motive behind the murders of four people in the french alps. president obama asks for four more years in office, vowing to create new jobs, cut the debt, and put the u.s. economy on stronger foundation. >> let's stick with economics.

it's time to greet jamie. let's kick off in america jobless friday. we got the new u.s. jobless numbers, and they are eagerly anticipated. >> in particular with an election year, and when jobs are in such a dire way. we're expecting 125,000, which is less than the previous month, but they are particularly sensitive, because either candidate in the election can really make a lot of political capital depending which way they go. obama can make a lot out of them, some good figures. and also, we've got another couple of months of these. so, if we say get three good months in a row, i think it's something that obama could make a great deal out of. of course, romney could make a great deal out of it if it went the other way. this is what the economist said, about even if we get good figures about how long it's going to take for the jobs market to properly recover. >> they don't get that much better until a couple of uncertainties are lifted that

are facing business decision makers from hiring, and one of them being the situation in europe and the uncertainty there. that's likely to persist well into 2003. >> you have to remember the dow is doing quite nicely. >> five years. >> yeah, since 2007. >> do you ever get a little bit tired of mega launches? we've got another one today. i'm sure you've been watching it. amazon launching a new souped up kindle, which i think is supposed to challenge the tablet coming up. >> in the tablet market, this is not one you read on the beach. this is a kindle four. there are four of them being released all together, different sizes, and they compete head on with apple. this is a hugely competitive market. in the united states, kindle has got about 22% of the market there. now, this is coming out of the states. it's going worldwide. and stuart miles, who comes from pocketlint.com, this is what he said, was so important

about this particular market. >> it's a very fierce market. everyone wants to be -- apple rules the nest, unfortunately, in that place, but everyone is thinking, hey, we want a piece that have pie, and what you're seeing is lots of smaller tablets, seven-inch devices over the kindle fire, and kindle fire comes in seven inches, and also an 8.9 version smile. but doing it smaller means a cheaper device, and that's where they're hopefully going to win out against apple, which is a lot more expensive. >> the interesting thing is that some people think -- nobody knows about these things yet, but apple could be out with a rival in just a week's time. >> and then what? does price really matter now? >> yes, to some. i mean, if you want to give -- if you've got an apple and you want to give it to a child, because it's much easier if you give them something that's worth $150 rather than $400. >> now, a christian girl arrested in pakistan for insulting islam has been granted bail.

rimsha was arrested in a poor islamabad suburb on august 16, accused of burning papers containing versus from the koran. on saturday, police detained a muslim cleroik suspicion of planting evidence to -- detained a muslim cleric on suspicion of planting evidence to frame her. aleem maqbool joins us. the bail today, does it indicate that the case against this girl is close to collapse? >> not necessarily. she is still going to have to face trial, but one of the arguments of her defense lawyers was that the evidence had been fabricated. there were three witnesses who said the local iman had planted the burned pages of the koran on her. but the consideration simply could have been her age, and that's why the judge might have asked that she be released on bail. but as i say, she's still going to have to go through the ordeal of having a trial.

while human rights groups have welcomed the fact that she has now been released, becoming the first pakistani to be released on bail after having been charged with blasphemy, on the other hand, that's been tempered with the feeling that she never should have been imprisonned in the first place. she's somebody of whom medical reports have showed she was indeed a child and one with learning difficulties. and human rights groups are saying this really is the time to look at those blasphemy laws and how they work in pakistan, because too many people are suffering. >> thank you very much. one of the biggest events in the world in cinema, toronto international film festival, has just begun. over the next 11 days, some 300 films will be screened for hundreds of thousands of canadian movie-goers. from toronto, we get this report.

>> toronto has one of the most biggest and prestigious in the world film festivals. the opening movie, "looper," a futuristic time travel thriller, brought some hollywood gloss to the proceedings with a cast headed by bruce willis, playing a conflicted character. >> troubled. troubled. bewildered, and just trying to not not do anything wrong, but i do. >> several films are being shown, among them, "the attack." set large until israel, it tells the story of a palestinian surgeon living in tel aviv who discovers his wife is a suicide bomber. but there's not just anguish in toronto's middle east films, the arab spring may be changing the stories that are getting told. >> i think people feel empowered to imagine things previously unimaginable. i have sensed a more wild,

poetic tendency in constructing everything, in telling a story. >> an example of this more adventurous story telling from the middle east, seen in toronto, is a move into unusual subject matter with lebanese rocket society, a film made by two artists who looks at lebanon's efforts to join the space race in the 1960's. >> this space project turns into a national project. >> quite apart from bringing attention to international cinema, toronto is also a huge publicity machine. over the next few days, film critics, journalists, and wards bloggers will scrutinize all the films on display, looking for possible oscar contenders. the oscars are five months away, but campaigning begins here in toronto. >> film companies and filmmakers have seen us at the launch of a campaign that goes all the way to the best picture academy award. it's nothing that we do on purpose, but i think we're well situated in the calendar. we've got a very strong audience component here, and

popular films really do tend to take off and find the buzz that the oscar campaigns need. >> no favorites have yet emerged, but two possible contenders are "the master," a story involving a spiritual leader said to be inspired by l. ron hubbard of scientology. and the film cloud "atlas quggets, an ambitious picture with six interconnected storylines set in different time periods. tom brook, bbc news, toronto. >> almost time for us to close, but a reminder of our top story on "g.m.t." -- french police are investigating whether a family feud might be behind the murders of four people in the alps. on wednesday afternoon, three members of a british iraqi family were killed, along with a french cyclist. the bodies were discovered close to the village of chevaline. the couple's two young daughters were at the scene and are r now under police

protection in the hospital. stay with us on "bbc world news." >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newmans own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored

solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.